[ranweiss]

I don’t think knowing anyone’s finances , net worth, or personal history, including ex wives etc, is at all reasonable. Especially those partners that are not near your age range. 

[Unknown Member]

Why do you care about others’ financial situation?

[Dr_Cocciolillo]

this will greatly depend on whether you are “partners” or friends in a group.  i am friendly with many but only know the finances and detailed personal lives of a few people i am friends with . we discuss the financial because it always comes up in PP and one can learn from others.  
the family situation just depends on how close you are.  
 
but i’ll second ar123.  it’s much more common not to know those kind of things

[Unknown Member]

Whatever someone does with their paycheck is completely their business. I never ask because rarely does any good come from knowing someone elses finances.

Im happy to point folks to good personal finance resources or accounting professionals.

[Dr_Cocciolillo]

i am often curious about this as well.  i have flat out asked some of my older partners why they work.  except for those F@@@d@d over by divorce, it’s some combination of enjoying it, loyalty to the group and having enough time to do everything they wish.   

[btomba_77]

I work in a group of over 100 radiologists.
 
I could successfully name about 70 of them in a picture.
 
I could guess roughly what side of town they live on for 50.
 
I know the roughly family structure (married, kids or not) for a bout 30
 
I actually know the names of spouse and kids and where they like to travel etc for about 15
 
I regularly socialize with 2.   
 
(I know a bit more about detailed finances about maybe 8 or 10 … but that’s because I’m the “personal finance” guy for the residents and when they get hired they will on occasion seek me out for consultation.)

[Unknown Member]

How well you know your coworkers has nothing to do with their finances. What are their goals, dreams, hobbies, etc? I have very close friends who I have no idea what they make or their financial situation. Its none of my business.

[Unknown Member]

I am good friends with a few, everyone is friendly, and know basics about most like kids, etc. financials not discussed. Its an academic center with great job security and pay. Many stay till part retirement age; not sure if its related to finances or that the job is interesting and they enjoy it, suspect the latter.

[ruszja]

Quote from peehdee

But I really dont know their finances, their networth, how they handle their money, how many wifes they might have had etc.. 

 
How is any of this your business ?

[Melenas]

It may not be. But after reading some of the threads on here about ‘why don’t people work less’ or ‘why don’t older guys retire’. Knowing where they are financially would certainly shed light as to why they keep wanting to slave a way at work. 

[aldoctc]

Quote from peehdee

….
Do most of you hang out and really know your partners or are they basically work colleagues? 

 
Some random thoughts as I read this thread…..
 
Unless you’ve hacked into the IRS and their accountant’s system, you don’t know the finances of anyone.  Even if they tell you, you only know what they’ve told you, which may or may not be true.  Even if they’d never lie by commission, there’s plenty of omission most of the time.  
 
At a previous gig, the workplace mood changed dramatically when the ex-comm became dominated by people (men AND women) who’d been trashed by divorce.  Seemingly overnight, we were all expected to work more.  Ugh.  Money is a wonderful servant and a terrible master.  
 
As Warren Buffett put it:  “You never know who’s swimming naked til the tide goes out.”  Way back in 2008 a neighbor down the street (eyeball and his nurse-wife) went belly up and the house was foreclosed.  
 
Never disclose how much you make nor your net worth.  Invariably, the person you disclose it to will have one or both of the following thoughts:  “How does a schmuck like him make so much?” and/or “How can I get him to pay for something?”  Seriously.  Even your own parents will think these.  Disclosure makes you the target of greed and/or envy, neither of which you want to be.  
 
Wealth is relative so (like your romantic partner’s sexual history) it’s best not to know much about other’s financial situation(see above).  I live like a king in flyover country; I’d struggle in San Fran.  My relatives on the coasts seem constantly stressed about finances and their disdain for where I live seems more and more like cover for the little voice in their head telling them that Seattle really has become a $hit-hole.  
 
Debt is like cancer; get rid of it before it gets rid of you.  
 
I could go on but time to get back to work….
 

[kathleen.hibler]

I get very uncomfortable when people talk to me about finances. Even close friends.

Mind your own business

[julie.young_645]

Joe speaks the truth.
 
Basically, it is nobody’s business who has what. And if you are paid on a productivity basis, what you make at work is nobody’s business either. 
 
Now all that being said…
 
IF BIG decisions are made by those with certain agendas, you need to be aware of it. IF someone in authority is divorced, or has a spouse who spends like a drunken sailor, and demands that income (and vacation time) be maximized at any and all cost, including blocking hiring, working lean, and pummeling those who remain at work, you have a problem. If someone in authority is a social-climber, and decisions are made on the basis of what will make him look good in the Doctors’ Lounge or the country club, you have a problem.
 
Trust me. 

[ruszja]

If people are your ‘partners’ in the practice, you should know exactly how much they MAKE. If you have a chance to watch how much they spend, you can get a good idea how much they should have in the kitty right now.

[Unknown Member]

Do you really want to know your partners that well?
The more I do, the more I am disappointed. 
Friendly acquaintance is the best relationship.
Make friends somewhere else.
 
Hold your cards close to your chest. Let them wallow in your mystery.
 

[placi]

Let all Men know thee, but no man know thee thoroughly: Men freely ford that see the shallows.

Benjamin Franklin

[ranweiss]

Quote from fw

If people are your ‘partners’ in the practice, you should know exactly how much they MAKE. If you have a chance to watch how much they spend, you can get a good idea how much they should have in the kitty right now.

Yes. If you’re a ‘true’ partner, everyone should earn the same. Not really anyone’s business wha a person’s spouse makes or how well they’ve invest etc.  Common sense that the 55 year old partner who vacations to Mexico and drives a camry probably has a ton more in the bank than the new associate who leases a porsche and buys a big house right out the gate.